Back in the 1700s, the average height of a man was five feet eight inches tall. Today, the average height of a man is five feet ten inches. George Washington was considered a giant back in his day and he was only six feet two inches tall. Today the tallest man in the world is somewhere in the eight foot range.

The average height of a NBA player is about six feet seven inches tall today. Each generation is gradually getting taller. Along with generations getting taller, we also have good knowledge of how to make athletes bigger and stronger. Our knowledge of lifting weights and eating is incredible. We know the perfect exercise programs and diets to get people to gain a ton of weight and have it be all muscle.

My great uncle, who is eighty three years old, told me that back when he was a kid, the average weight of an NFL lineman was one hundred and sixty pounds. In the NFL today, the average weight for a linemen is around three hundred and twenty pounds.

Usually when I think of a six feet eight inch person, I think of a clumsy, lanky man. However, that is not the case these days. Lebron James, a NBA player for the Miami Heat, is six feet eight inches tall and is 260 pounds. He runs the 40 yard dash in 4.4 second, and has a 44 inch vertical leap. Another example is Vernon Davis, a Tight End for the San Francisco 49er’s. He is six feet three inches tall and weighs 253 pounds. He runs the 40 yard dash in 4.38 seconds, can bench 225 pounds 33 times, and has a vertical leap of 42 inches.

The better athletes will lead to better competition. The standards that college athletes and high school athletes have to meet are higher than ever. There are more and more people wanting to be athletes and only the elite will survive. The games will be much more physical and the games will be faster played. As our knowledge of the human body grows and humans get bigger and more athletic, sports will be more competitive and better entertainment for spectators.